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By James Mackenzie
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted lawfully in sacking the head of the domestic intelligence service amid a political scandal that has fuelled a wave of anti-government protests.
Netanyahu said last month that he had lost confidence in Shin Bet head Ronen Bar over the agency's failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and sacked him before the decision was blocked by a Supreme Court temporary injunction.
Netanyahu's move to oust Bar sparked a furious reaction from critics who said the real reason for his dismissal was a police and Shin Bet investigation into possible ties between Netanyahu aides and Qatar.
He has dismissed the so-called "Qatargate" affair as a political witch-hunt launched against him by what he called the "Deep State" and said two aides arrested in the probe had been taken "hostage".
Netanyahu, who travelled to Washington on Monday to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, is not directly implicated and faces no immediate risk to his hold on power from the probe, which alleges that Qatar made payments to media aides as part of an influence-peddling campaign to improve its image.
But it has added momentum to anti-government protests attracting thousands of Israelis who accuse Netanyahu of undermining key state institutions and endangering the foundations of Israeli democracy.
Ever since he returned to office at the head of one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history, Netanyahu has been at odds with much of the defence establishment and the justice system, first over his 2023 plans to curb the powers of the Supreme Court, and later over the conduct of the war in Gaza.
Bar, in letters to the government and the Supreme Court, has said his dismissal was not being made on professional grounds, was tainted by conflict of interest, and sends a message to law enforcers that they are expected to show personal loyalty to the prime minister, rather than the state.
At the same time as trying to sack Bar, Netanyahu is also seeking to oust the attorney general, the government's top legal adviser, who has clashed repeatedly with ministers over the legality of some of its policies.
Like the military, Shin Bet has investigated its October 7 failures and Bar has said he would step down before the end of his term.
However, Netanyahu has resisted calls to establish an independent state inquiry into the security failures that led to Israel's single deadliest day. Rejecting any personal blame, he has engaged in bitter exchanges with Bar, whom he accuses of launching the Qatar probe to avoid being sacked.
Qatari officials have described the affair and the investigation as a baseless "smear campaign".
Israel does not consider Qatar an enemy state, and Doha has been mediating Gaza ceasefire negotiations. But it also hosts Hamas leaders and owns the Al Jazeera network whose operations Israel has shut down, citing security concerns.
As the Qatargate case has unfolded, Netanyahu has been testifying in his own corruption trial, in which he denies wrongdoing. He has been questioned as a witness in the Qatargate case but is not a suspect.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
